Prakash Jha’s ‘Satyagraha’ : emotional not issue-based?

New Delhi: Bihar’s Bollywood director Prakash Jha has rubbished claims that ha makes ‘issue-based’ films and says that ‘emotion’ is what drives his films. He has also said that his latest work ‘Satyagrah’ has nothing whatsoever to do with either Anna Hazare or Arjun Kejriwal.

Prakash Jha is expert in making films out of newspaper headlines but the director says he is a commercial filmmaker whose stories deal with emotions and not with issues.

Amitabh in a scene from Satyagraha

“My films are not issue-based rather they are emotional. If I don’t have strong emotions in my stories, then I think nobody will watch them. My films are very commercial,” Jha told PTI in an interview.

Jha, 61, often lands in trouble for his films, which revolve around political controversies. His ‘Gangaajal’ was inspired by the blinding incident at Bhagalpur, he portrayed the kidnappings in Bihar through ‘Apaharan’. Similarly, his last release ‘Chakravyuh’ dealt with the naxal problem.

The director is now looking forward to the release of ‘Satyagraha’, where he takes on the wave of protests that rocked the nation recently though he denies that the film has anything to do with Anna Hazare movement.

“My film has no connection with Anna Hazare and Arvind Kejriwal’s protest. It has got many protests scenes but we cannot say that it has resemblance with Anna Hazare’s movement. There are so many protests going around the world, which became my inspiration.

“‘Satyagraha’ is about a son’s discontentment. He thinks greed is a good thing but his father thinks just opposite and my film is about how their thought process affect others associated with them,” Jha said.

The director is happy that ‘Satyagraha’ has created a strong buzz much prior to its August 30 release.

“It’s good that people are talking about the film. If a direct request from Anna Hazare team comes to preview the film, we are ready for it,” Jha said when asked whether he would screen the movie to Hazare’s team.

Jha has teamed up with Amitabh Bachchan for the second time after ‘Aarakshan’. Jha says Bachchan’s discipline is inspiring.

“At the age of 70, Amitabhji is still hungry for good roles. He is so keen on learning new things. He behaves as a newcomer on the set and is always keen to learn. He is a disciplined man and always comes prepared for the role,” he said.

Apart from Bachchan, the film has a strong ensemble starcast of Ajay Devgn, Kareena Kapoor, Amrita Rao, Arjun Rampal and Manoj Bajpai.

After the success of ‘Rajneeti’, the director has been churning out multi-starrers be it ‘Aarakshan’ or ‘Chakravyuh’ and Jha says directing a muti-starrer is not tough.

“I am very fortunate to work with all these actors. People say that I have given many actors a new lease of life with my films. But I don’t think so. I take only those actors who fit the role. Rest is there dedication and hard work,” he said.

Jha is also thinking of making sequels to ‘Rajneeti’ and ‘Gangaajal’ but the filmmaker says he might end up doing something new next.